LOS ANGELES — Tom Selleck, who reigned in Hawai'i as "Magnum, P.I.," is getting ready to take over "Las Vegas."

Selleck will join the cast of the NBC drama next season, playing a billionaire with a mysterious past who becomes the new owner of the show's centerpiece hotel, the Montecito, the network said yesterday.

James Caan, who starred as the casino's chief executive, is departing but will be part of the premiere next season, NBC said.

Selleck played private detective Thomas Magnum on the hit CBS drama from 1980 to 1988.

HBO CEO OUSTED AFTER ASSAULT BUST

NEW YORK — HBO chief executive Chris Albrecht was forced out by Time Warner yesterday after his weekend arrest on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend in Las Vegas.

Albrecht, who said Tuesday he was taking a leave of absence to regain control of his alcoholism, said a day later that he was resigning as chairman and CEO "at the request of Time Warner."

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that HBO in 1991 paid a settlement of at least $400,000 to a subordinate and former lover of Albrecht's after she accused him of shoving and choking her.

Albrecht had been chief of programming at HBO since 1995 and became CEO in 2002. He presided over the network's greatest successes with "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City," but the company was having trouble developing its next generation of hits.

TINSELTOWN HAILS HONORARY MAYOR

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, celebrated his 84th birthday yesterday surrounded by Tinseltown legends.

Mickey Rooney, Angie Dickinson and Mamie Van Doren were among those who turned out to fete Grant at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where the first Academy Awards were presented in 1929, and where Grant lives.

Rooney lauded Grant's longtime service with the United Services Organization and his many contributions to the Hollywood community, calling him "a man who's practically seen it all."

HILTON: I'M NOT ABOVE THE LAW

LOS ANGELES — Five days after she was sentenced to jail, Paris Hilton says she understands the seriousness of driving under the influence and that she is not "above the law."

"I am ready to face the consequences of violating probation," Hilton said in a statement released yesterday. "I do not expect to be treated better than anyone else who violated probation. However, my hope is that I will not be treated worse."

Hilton said she released the statement because "I feel the need to correct what I believe are misperceptions about me."

The notorious party girl, who parlayed her pampered lifestyle into a reality TV show and a pop CD, was sentenced to 45 days in county jail for violating the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. A judge ordered her to report to the women's jail by June 5, adding that she will not be allowed any work release, furloughs, an alternative jail or electronic monitoring instead of time behind bars.